Hey, [fname], this is it. We have been gathering steam and the opening weekend is upon us (if you didn’t get the updated email last week, we pushed the release by one week to avoid decimation by Beowulf last weekend — also, it gave me time to figure out how to use this email newsletter program).

Just as in the U.S., the opening weekend box office in Korea is crucial to the life of a film. This is both an exciting and nerve-wracking time for me. The film was made as a love letter to Korea and right now we are waiting to see if it gets returned to sender.

I am fresh off a whirlwind trip to Seoul where I was doing press and promotion. We had an awesome Q&A after our sold out preview screening for general audiences. And from the looks of things, it seems like Koreans will dig this movie. The blogs, the reviews, the interviews… it is all leading towards us finding our audience out there.

What I am feeling most optimistic about though is that the Kyoppo (second generation Korean American) network might actually make a difference in the opening weekend in Korea. Last week when I sent out the email to click on the movie info at Naver.com, the film went from being ranked 2000+ in popularity to 20 overnight! This could be a monumental achievement unheard of before — the Asian American community affecting the Korean domestic box office simply by an email campaign. And it all starts here with you.

If you have friends in the U.S. with connections to Korea or friends and family in Korea, please pass this email on. 화이팅!

-Michael Kang

dir. West 32nd

A NOTE FROM JOHN CHO:

When I came to Los Angeles to pursue acting 10 years ago, it felt like I was one of very few Korean American guys in town. In the years since, the situation has changed dramatically – I would never have guessed then that there would be so many prominent Korean American actors working today. And it’s been so exciting to see that growth paralleled by the growth of Korean cinema in the global market.

I began to wonder what it would be like if resources and talent flowed both ways, from the United States to Korea and back? One of the first answers to that question is a Michael Kang movie I acted in called West 32nd. It’s set in New York’s Koreatown; it’s often bi-lingual; it stars Korean American and Korean actors; and it was financed by CJ Entertainment, a Korean company that took a chance on this uniquely entertaining thriller.

On a personal note, the experience of making this film is among the most gratifying of my life. My character’s discovery of his own culture mirrored my own experience with a largely Korean American cast and crew. It was a special time for me.

But the opportunity to give birth to a new category of film – the Korean/American co-production – is also special. In success, I hope this film is a catalyst for stories, talent, and resources to be shared between Koreans and Korean Americans. It would be a shame for us to drop the ball on this now.

West 32nd is opening theatrically in Korea on 20 screens on November 22. We ask that you please alert those you know in Korea. This is the way it happens – people emailing friends and family. Thank you very much for reading.

“You may start to watch “West 32nd,” anew film by Korean-American director Michael Kang, without muchexpectation, sitting comfortably in your chair. But at a certain pointyou will find yourself on the edge…”

“What separates Michael Kang’s second feature from the rest, however, isthe location: New York’s shady Koreatown. By transplanting the roomsalons and hierarchies to Queens, Kang has created a film that’s bothfresh and familiar.”

SYNOPSIS:

WhenJohn Kim, an ambitious young lawyer, takes on a pro bono case toexonerate a fourteen-year-old boy from a first degree murder charge, hefinds a world he never knew existed in the underbelly of Manhattan -the Korean underworld. Infiltrating the knotty and complex realm ofKorean organized crime to search for clues, he meets his match, MikeJuhn, a rising soldier in the syndicate. Recognizing John’sdetermination and daring, Mike brings John into his confidence,furtively drawing him into his scheme to re-shuffle the Koreanunderworld. Though they become fast friends, they just as quickly endup trying to outfox each other as they discover they’ll both doanything to win.